Philippine Airlines to order 787s

On the opening day of the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, Philippine Airlines (PAL) has announced it will be ordering the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, in particular its stretched 787-10 (78X) model.  It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire 15 of them with an option for up to five more.  

Rendering of Philippine Airlines Boeing 787-10

In attendance at the MoU signing was Richard Nuttall - President of PAL, Lucio Tan III - Chief Operating Officer of PAL Holdings Inc, Stephanie Pope - President and Chief Executive of Boeing Commercial Airples, and Brad McMullen - Boeing Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing.

Tan has remarked that “This investment manifests our confidence in the future of Philippine Airlines and the continued growth of air travel. The Boeing 787-10 will strengthen our medium and long-haul fleet, allowing us to provide an even better travel experience for our customers while improving operational efficiency and supporting our long-term sustainability goals”.  He further stated that "As Asia’s first and longest serving airline, we proudly celebrated our 85th anniversary earlier this year. An equally meaningful milestone that we celebrate this year is 80 years of partnership between Philippine Airlines and Boeing."  

Pope has also remarked that “Philippine Airlines’ selection of the 787 Dreamliner marks an important step forward in our partnership, one that spans 80 years”.  Moreover she adds “We’re grateful for PAL’s trust in Boeing, and our team looks forward to delivering advanced-technology airplanes that deepen connections across the Philippines, Asia and beyond.” 

Deliveries are expected to commence in 2031 through to 2034.  However in recent years, Boeing has been plagued by supply chain bottlenecks, manufacturing defects, and certification delays.  

The Dreamliner is PAL's first order with the US plane manufacturer in almost two decades.  Its last direct order with Boeing was the 777-300ER (77W), which it first took delivery of in 2009.  PAL has 10 77Ws in its fleet and they fly primarily to the west coast of North America .  PAL was also a previous operator of the Boeing 747-400.  PAL is also the only Philippine carrier that currently operates Boeing aircraft.

The 78X has a range of up to 6,760 nautical miles.  This makes flights to Honolulu and the Middle East from Manila easible on full passenger loads.  

Reuters has also previously reported that PAL plans to buy Airbus A350 aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow but no official annoucnement on that has been made.  The A350 family is widely regarded to be Airbus' answer to Boeing's 787 aircraft family.  Likewise, the airshow's first day has featured Riyadh Air ordering both 787s and A350s.